News on wafer

News on suppliers, market trends and technology innovations in polysilicon and wafer production is selected, assessed and written for you by Bernreuter Research.

Curves of the global polysilicon price average from January 2022 through the first week of January 2023 (dark blue) and from January 2021 through the first week of January 2022 (pink)

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Since the last week of December 2022, the slump of the polysilicon price has accelerated drastically; however, there are good arguments that the price collapse will soon come to a halt.

The ten most popular posts from Bernreuter Research on LinkedIn in 2021

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New entrants in China, the FBR project of GCL and news on non-Chinese polysilicon manufacturers are the most popular themes among the top ten posts from Bernreuter Research on LinkedIn in 2021.

Curve of the polysilicon spot price in 2021

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After a massive price surge during 2021, signs are piling up that the polysilicon price is about to come down from its high level of US$36/kg. But a new price increase could follow in 2022.

Chemical factory of Hanwha Solutions

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The US$160 million investment of Hanwha Solutions, the world’s sixth largest solar module supplier, in U.S. polysilicon maker REC Silicon only makes sense with new wafer production capacity.

A couple recruited through a labor transfer program is sitting in a bunk room at a facility of Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., Ltd.

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The Withhold Release Order of the U.S. customs against Xinjiang-based silicon metal producer Hoshine puts pressure on polysilicon manufacturers as most of them are sourcing from Hoshine.

Daqo New Energy’s polysilicon plant in Shihezi, Xinjiang, with electricity grid operated by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a promoter of forced labor

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The western solar industry will likely be able to cut its ties to forced labor at polysilicon and wafer producers in Xinjiang. But establishing an alternative, complete supply chain is a monumental task.

Fluidized bed reactor (FBR) polysilicon plant of TianREC, the Chinese joint venture of REC Silicon, in Yulin, Shaanxi province, China

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Low utilization rates and continuing losses of its granular polysilicon joint venture TianREC in Yulin in the Chinese province of Shaanxi have led REC Silicon to write down its investment to zero.

Polysilicon plant of OCI in Bintulu, a coastal city in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia

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OCI’s Malaysian polysilicon subsidiary has signed a three-year supply contract with Longi, the world’s largest solar wafer maker. The volume of 77,700 tons will fill OCI’s production capacity for the most part.

Polysilicon supply contracts of Longi Green Energy Technology and Zhonghuan Semiconductor

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Longi Green Energy Technology and Zhonghuan Semiconductor, the world’s two largest makers of monocrystalline solar wafers, have closed major supply contracts with GCL’s polysilicon subsidiary Jiangsu Zhongneng.

REC Silicon’s silane and fluidized bed reactor polysilicon plant in Moses Lake, Washington with vehicle at night

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REC Silicon has announced partnerships with two future customers of its mothballed silane and polysilicon production facilities in Moses Lake, Washington, with restart planned in 2022.